Taste: Starts a bit tame with some grapefruit, nothing strong then segues into a peach syrup flavor. Strong biscuity malt upfront kind of overshadows the hops. Gets better as it warms as some spiciness and plush orange appear.

Mouthfeel: Very balanced but maybe a bit too conservative? The finish is nice and the overall feel is crisp.

Overall: Don't drink this one too cold or you might miss some nuances. A good IPA but for me, not top tier.

Thanks to DaftCaskBC for hooking me up with this one a couple weeks ago. Poured into straight pint glass. Poured a lightly hazy golden straw yellow color, with about a half inch of off-white head that had medium light retention and light lacing.

The aroma was pine hops upfront, with some grapefruit/citrus notes behind that. There wasn't much grain or malt in the aroma. On the tongue, the pine hops again grabbed your attention first, with the citrus notes following along. There was just enough malt to notice on the taste buds. The beer had a lingering bitter-grapefruit finish.

The body was fairly typical for the style, although a bit thinner than i personally prefer. Drinkability was good, if you're a hop head, you could easily drain several of these. Overall, a very nice take on the style. Nothing earth-shattering or groundbreaking, just a pretty good take on a favorite style for a lot of folks. Certainly trying if you see it, and probably worth setting up a trade for.

O a big winner in my books, 4.25 would be useful here for taste and feel so overall scores adjusting accordingly, somewhat balanced and I'm loving the hop profile

When this one popped up on the Canadian top 100 my interest was sparked for sure, when it showed up in a box from the most generous Rutager I now understand why. This one would be in my fridge on a constant basis if I could buy it in this part of the world.

A: Pours with barely a finger of white head that dissipates to a thin ring round the glass. Interesting pumpkin orange, clear and very low on bubbly carbonation.

S: Piney wet wood, with grapefruit rind and hints of pineapple.

T: Taste pops with hoppy bitterness. Similar to the smell, the taste starts strong with woodsy pine resins and white grapefruit rind. There's a funkiness of wet earth, if you know the Pacific North West you may get a taste reminiscent of a wet PNW morning.

M: For the lack of carbonation in the glass there seems to be a prick of carbonation in the mouth. Medium bodied nice to drink - not to thick not to thin.

O: Unlike Red Race IPA, there is no floral scent. Switchback rides heavy on the woodsy taste and smell. If Switchback and Red Racer IPA were perfumes, Switchback would be "for Him" and Red Racer would be "for Her". Excellent hoppy citrus/woody taste, I may actually have to change my preferred beer from dark Belgian ale to IPA.

Excelllent beer served on tap at alibi room in Vancouver. Not picking much up smell wise besides citrusy grapefruit. Told this has a bunch of NZ hops. Whatever it is its quite delish. A well balanced beer. I get more of a dank tangerine profile going on. So the sips of this beer start off dry and bitter and finish with a slightly sweet nectarine oiliness. A very unique beer. Incredibly drinkable. Goes well with food too.

Beer is dead on with a load of alpha acid and citrusy goodness. As the ABV would indicate, this is a pretty big beer -- a healthy balance in between a west coast IPA and a double/imperial IPA. Mouthfeel is relatively thin in terms of weight, which works well with the moderate carbonation and hop-forward style. Overall I am very pleased.

A: 3/4" cream coloured head that left a nice lacing over amber coloured liquid with excellent clarity. Can't ask for much more out of an IPA.

S: Pine, earth, grass, grapefruit; smells like we have a hop bomb on our hands. It smells similar to Pliny the Elder.

T: Pine, grapefruit, grass and earth up front that gives way to a tasty and sweet malt base. Extremely tasty.

M: Medium viscosity and medium level of somewhat foamy carbonation.

O: Beautiful. Red Racer IPA and Driftwood Fat Tug move over; there is a new kid in town and he's not pulling any punches. I have no problem saying that this is easily one of Canada's best IPAs. It has the smell profile of Pliny the Elder and the taste profile similar to Stone IPA but more grassy and earthy, and with a better tasting and sweeter malt backbone to finish it up.

A: Gold with a frothy white head, great retention & lace. I don't usually comment on the packaging, but they've done a REALLY great job here. Great art work on an open six-pack, non-twist-off, 355mL bottle like a newer American stubby (like Sierra Nevada). As much as I love it, I'd love to see this in cans!

S: Very perfumy. Definitely some Simcoe and Amarillo here, with a few other new school hops for plenty of depth: Tangerine, pine, lemon grass, gooseberry, nectarine, a bit dank.

D/O: Really an all-around great brew. This is in the same league as the Red Racer and Fat Tug IPA... and the bitterness and hopping (aroma & flavour) do seem to fall between the two. Actually, the plethora of hops is probably on-par with Red Racer, but the bitterness is a bit less assertive than the mighty Fat Tug.

I'll be buying this one. Lately I've preferred the assertive bitterness of the Fat Tug over the Red Racer Hop fix (bong water?)... but I don't always feel like opening a whole bomber. I can see myself drinking this new-school IPA, as well as the more sessionable, old-school Hophead from Tree.

Their small brewer, big flavour series has certainly showed they have talent. I'm glad this is now routinely available.

Damn , Lighthouse is shooting for the stars with this new IPA. Big , hoppy and a citrus nose to die for. I remember how their first IPA was very conservative and styled after the British versions but this IPA is pure PNW and ranks alongside Phillips,Tree and Driftwood as one of the best In BC.

Appearance: A perfectly clear gold, could fool anyone into believing its a lager. A nice soapy head on top and some good lacing.

Smell: Huge tropical and fruity hop notes! This beers aroma explodes in the nose, so much flavor. I can get mango, passionfruit, a little pineapple, and maybe some peach, very diverse. One of the best smelling IPAs I have ever come across.

Taste: Very bitter, right off the bat. After that there is a strong citrus presence that comes into play, and then the tropical fruitiness. This is a very tasty beer, very one sided, I can hardly get a trace of malt character, but still very tasty.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is very crisp and clean, but the body lacks character and the beer feels a little thin if I am being picky.

Overall: A must try if you are into the Tropical hop profile, and highly recommended to even those who aren't. Another great IPA from BC, these breweries around here know what they are doing.